Hold Your Hedgehog Tight
by 57Oranges
Summary: Sonic has anxiety because he's only 13 and went through a lot. Tom is the father of the year and loves his blue son very much.


Tom slowly shifted in bed as he suddenly awoke. Even though he was a light sleeper, he rarely found himself up in the middle of the night. Tom lifted his head to glance at the digital clock on his nightstand. 2:46 AM. He exhales slowly and turned on his right side facing his wife Maddie, who slept soundly. Before Tom could fall back asleep, he suddenly heard a small creaking in the ceiling above him. For a second, he paid no mind, as the town of Green Hills was full of small creatures who were quite active in the night. With that thought, he then remembers in his groggy state the small creature they had adopted who was sleeping in the attic.

They had shown Sonic his new bedroom just days ago, and he seemed happy to get his first good night's sleep there in a real bed. However, the creaking came again, followed by the groan of the attic stairs lowering. Then came the small shuffles of socked feet across the wooden floor, getting slightly louder as they approached the master bedroom. Tom turned over again and peered over the side of the bed. While Tom could probably see Sonic from where he laid in bed, he had to peer over farther to see the small hedgehog. Not just because of the darkened room, but also because Sonic was slightly hunched forward, carrying a blanket over his shouldered that was twice his size. Tom also took notice of Sonic's triangular ears that were flattened backwards, and the visible wells of tears on his beige muzzle.

This was not the first time Sonic had come to Tom and Maddie's bedroom in the middle of the night, or the first night he'd woken one of them up. In fact, since day one of staying at his new home, he started having anxiety attacks while trying to sleep. The first night was the worst, and Tom kicked himself for not seeing them coming. He had been so caught up on getting himself readjusted after the eventful and dangerous trip they had together, he hadn't considered the impact it might've had on Sonic. The impact from tense battles, multiple injuries, nearly dying and almost getting taken away by the government had taken a huge toll on Sonic's mental state. To make it all worse, it came at a time when he was living in a new place with a new life for the first time in 10 years.

Whenever Sonic tried to lay down and sleep, his mind would go as fast as his feet as he'd start panicking over recent events and worry about the future. On that first night, Sonic was too exhausted to run and too worried to wake up Tom, so he attempted to find something to pass the time on his own. Needless to say, after dropping a glass from atop the counter, Tom and Maddie were both awake and downstairs trying to help figure out what was going on and how to help. Tom wanted to figure out exactly what was bothering Sonic, while Maddie tried brewing him some tea to calm him down. Talking didn't help, not even eating or watching TV. After hours of no luck, Tom decided to send Maddie back to bed, and he'd stay with Sonic until morning. Even if they couldn't stop his anxious thoughts and physical symptoms, Tom would at least stay with his adopted son until it all passed.

Tom sat with Sonic on the couch and put an ambience channel on the television. He sat Sonic on his lap and grabbed a blanket from the couch to wrap him in in case they ended up falling asleep. Turns out they both passed rather quickly, and Maddie came downstairs in the morning to find Tom and Sonic deep in slumber together on the couch; Tom laying slanted against pillows stacked on the end of the sofa, with his arms wrapped around a bundled Sonic with his head nestled into Tom's chest.

With the same thing happening the following night, Tom decided to go with what had the most immediate effect the previous night and brought Sonic downstairs onto the couch and into his arms, where they both fell asleep, under the same blanket and listening to the white noise of the television.

With several days and nights passed to master their routine and to talk about what was on Sonic's mind, Tom realized something else about the hedgehog in his care. 10 years of isolation made Sonic rather desperate for physical contact. He would be stuck to Tom during the day and would be unable to sleep at night when he tried laying still in his room. Tom knew there was probably a lot of things that Sonic had been left with after 10 years alone, and then those two chaotic days after. Whatever it was, he wanted to be there for him and let him know he wasn't alone anymore.

It was three nights since that first episode. Tom sat up in bed and put his legs over the side while glancing down to get a better look at Sonic. He reached down to grab that same blanket which was draped around Sonic's small shoulders. Tom gave him the blanket to sleep with hoping it'd provide some comfort, but it wasn't the same.

Tom grabbed the sides of the blanket on Sonic's shoulders and brought it up over his head, making sure to cover his sharp quills. After covering Sonic's head, he moved his hands down the blanket's edge to wrap them around the blue alien's body, like a parent swaddling a baby. His hands left the blanket to carefully grab Sonic's side and lifted him onto his right knee. The blanketed head rested groggily upon his chest, as Tom moved his right arm behind Sonic's back and then around to his front, so he could grab Sonic's legs, which were also bundled in the blanket. With his one arm securing Sonic close to him, he took his left arm and began slowly stroking Sonic's head, not pricking his fingers on any quills thanks to the blanket. As he heard the quivering child sniffle in his arms, he started slowly rocking him back and forth, while continuing to lovingly rub his head.

Tom continued this until he heard Sonic's breathing steady. He brought his legs back up onto the bed, and set the sleeping bundle on his other side, onto the bed between him and Maddie. Tom got back under the covers and tucked himself and Sonic in for the night. As he laid on his side facing Sonic, he smiled happily knowing how much he was able to help the troubled kid. Tom didn't know how long this routine would keep up for, or what other problems would come up, but he felt such a fatherly love for the small and lonely 13-year-old, that he was happy and willing to be there for him, through whatever would come next.

_end_


End file.
